This is an activity involving scientific inquiry. Using a constructed Mystery Light Box, learners will observe what is in the box without removing the object from the box, shining a light into the box, or reaching hands into the box, and they will...(View More) draw what they see. Next, they will brainstorm questions they would like answered about the light source in the Mystery Light Box and propose methods for obtaining information about the mystery object without being able to handle it or get close to it. This activity requires construction of the Mystery Box prior to doing the lesson. This activity is from the Stanford Solar Center's All About the Sun: Sun and Stars activity guide for Grades 5-8 and can also accompany the Stanford Solar Center's Build Your Own Spectroscope activity.(View Less)

In this open inquiry activity introducing concepts of remote sensing, students will discuss and research different invisible phenomena. They will then test and verify the existence of selected invisible phenomena by using measurement or detection...(View More) devices. Depending on the phenomena being investigated, some of the following supplies are suggested: thermometer, light meter, decibel meter, telescope, gas sensors, filters, anemometer, and/or radon testing kit. This activity is part of the Ground Truth Studies Teacher Handbook, which provides more than 20 activities to build student understanding of global change and remote sensing, and includes background chapters for teachers, glossary, and appendices.(View Less)